WELLINGTON, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Host runner Daniel Jones and Hannah Oldroyd from Britain defended their titles in the men's and women's categories respectively of the Queenstown Marathon on Saturday as the picturesque event attracted over 11,000 athletes.
Wellington-based Jones won the men's race in two hours, 31 minutes and 13 seconds, while Oldroyd finished first in the women's category with 2:49:50.
"I'm feeling pretty stoked, I've been back training pretty well for the last six weeks and I felt just about ready to get in a good marathon today. 2:31, I think it was not my quickest time here, but I was pushed hard by some of those other guys earlier on and just managed to pull away in the second half and held my nerve and just managed to stick to it," said Jones.
"There was such a good atmosphere again, running through Queenstown was so good," he added.
Four events were set up for this year's Queenstown Marathon: marathon, half marathon, 10km and 3km kids run, with the average age of participants being 38 while the oldest participant is 88 years old.
Queenstown, one of New Zealand's top visitor destinations, is nestled on the shores of crystal clear Lake Wakatipu and surrounded by magnificent mountain ranges. ■
